Hello Simply Hopeless here and this is almost my first time writing for Fruits Basket. I didn't much care for my first attempt because I wasn't getting many reviews so here I go again. I of course do not own Fruits Basket but the story idea is mine and I do hope you enjoy and I look forward to your reviews.

Taboo

Chapter One

"Um where exactly does this go?" she laughed nervously and turned around to face him with those confused green eyes of hers. An unsure smile curled onto her lips as she clutched the files tightly against her as if they were her lifelines.

"I'm so sorry… I should have known not to pick them up without asking but I thought you would want me to clean up a bit and I… sorry," she trailed off at the silence.

He looked up from his work to look at her critically, as if studying a specimen. Her face, flushed from her morning exertions outside, seemed to darken even more as his gaze roamed over her. She looked down at her fingers clutching tightly to the folders were they almost seem to dig into them.

'Remember to take deep breaths,' she thought to herself and began to ease her racing heart and breath to a steady tempo. One hand nervously went out to tug self-consciously at one of her ribbons she wore in her hair. 'I know, I know it's childish but… but my mother gave this to me and I can't get rid of it,' she pleaded with herself but there was no answering response.

"So where do I… do I…"

"Put them over there," he waved his hand absently in the direction of the small wooden shelves towards the back. "They are lettered so you should have no problem putting them in their rightful place," he droned on, his eyes scanning over a medical sheet.

"Of… of course," she nodded her head in jerking movements as if she were being controlled by an unsteady puppeteer.

'Nothing like Kana.' His mind seem to dwell fondly over his ex's face, her pouting lips, her laughing eyes. 'Nothing like her, but really what do I expect from something like her.'

His eyes went back to look at his new assistant. He insisted that he didn't need any help but what with Akito taking a turn for the worst. He had only time for him and only him. This was the first lapse of peace he had in months and hopefully enough time to break in this newcomer Ms… Ms…

"Please state your name again," his green eyes flicked towards her as she set the final file proudly in its place.

"My name is Honda, Tohru," she smiled in reassurance at her name. Her long deceased mother with love and care gave it to her.

"I see. If you would mind Honda-san would you care to dust the shelves," his eyes had already begun to rove over the pages of a forgotten book as he spoke but she knew that he was waiting for a response.

"I… um… sure Hatori-san," she bowed awkwardly, jittery at being in this new place. It almost set the fine hair on the back of her neck standing on end at the mystery cloaking such a beautiful place.

She looked at him expectantly expecting him to tell her where the duster or vacuum was but he was clearly too engross in the story to care where he was. She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip and though she wasn't one to twist her hair, found herself winding and unwinding a strand around her index finger.

'Kami how do these things happen to me,' she thought hopelessly to herself as she began to walk towards the back once more to begin her search. She was happy about getting an opportunity to train under a real doctor and making extra money. But she had hoped it wouldn't feel so awkward at her new workplace.

Momiji had made it seem so exciting and interesting. Made her feel so eager to start helping others. It had been drilled into her since the beginning. The task to help others strong in her blood and she did not shrug off the responsibility one bit.

Just looking at her you would have thought she would have went pale as a ghost at the site of blood nevertheless at a spider. She rationed the blood she could stop, help clean away, and heal but the spider… She trembled at the thought of the hairy tarantula one boy had brought to school one day.

'He put it on my head,' she moaned to herself but sighed in relief as she caught the fresh scent of pine sol mixed with other cleaning fluids. With confident strides she made her way towards the cabinet, which she noticed was clearly marked 'Cleaning Supplies.'

Dusting away the thought of eight hair legs crawling and tickling her scalp she quickly reached in and grabbed a feather duster. She set it on the counter and started to braid up her light brown hair with nimble fingers into two French braids before tying the ends with her ribbon in a little bow.

She smiled to herself, proud to be twenty-two years and free of the first steps of college. She was unwilling to go back to school but she knew she had to. It wasn't right to refuse an opportunity to better ones self.

'Never thought this would be the place I would be spending my medical learning,' she grumbled to herself in disappointment. At the age of six she had made it her mission to become a doctor so she could, as her mother so adequately quoted her saying, 'Heal all the poor little booboos' of the world.'

Thankfully her mother never said anything as embarrassing as that to any of her friends. In fact Tohru could easily find herself baring her soul towards her mother so that she could help deal and cope with any problem.

At times she would find herself cupping the receiver to her ear and dialing her old number to her house. But always she would here the clip professional voice of the telephone operator. 'We're sorry but this phone has been disconnected. Please call back and try again or call your operator. Have a nice day.'

It made her heart sink every time she held her breath hoping to here her mother mummer cheerfully, 'Moshi, Moshi,' only to get the operator instead.

She placed a cool hand against her forehead trying to soothe her troubled thoughts. 'It's a fresh start Tohru and we promised her that we would make her proud… she will be proud of me.'

And with a grim smile on her face she lowered the hand from her brow and began to dust briskly against the bookshelves. Sometimes she pulled out a book to glance at the title more clearly or to get at the glinting cobwebs nearby.

She shivered every time she had to do that but there were only one or two. Seeing that there was something on top of the shelf that needed cleaning she quickly grabbed the little step stool and began to dust delicately.

Her hands gripping the books shelve to steady herself she brushed against a picture of a young woman. 'It couldn't be his mother could it? No he doesn't seem like the type who would have pictures of women in his office.'

She shook her head to keep herself on track then began to dust at the top object again. As soon as she began to do that it felt like time was slowing down just then. She had only enough time to squeak in surprise as the object she was dusting began to teeter before falling onto her.

Closing her yes she braced for impact but instead of feeling heavy pottery shards embedded in her head, she felt the warmth of someone's arms. She had only enough time to look up at Hatori's calm face and here Momiji's greeting somewhere a little away from them before she heard a puffing sound and landed hard on her butt, her head knocking against the shelf.

To be continued…